100 Themes: Role Playing One Shots
by Element Wolf
Summary: A series of one-shots, all with a different theme!  All of the characters and events are from my Percy Jackson role play, so if you're not in the role play, odds are you won't understand this!  Lots of romance and drama!  Enjoy, role players!
1. Introduction

**Hello! Well, I'm sure that you have seen 100 Themes story before (pity if you haven't), and here I am with one of my own!**

**Now, I didn't want to do a particular fandom, because I thought I would loose interest. But since I am an avid role-player, and the owner of the number one forum and top role-play in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians fandom, I've been wanting to do someting with the role-play characters and some events! So, don't go bashing on me that ANY of these characters are Mary-Sue, because any of the members of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians RP will tell you that I MAKE SURE that every character that I accept IS NOT a Mary-Sue. I hate Mary-Sue's with a passion, so all of the characters have to have a large amount of flaws. ;) So, moving on . . .**

**The first theme is "Introduction". I had some trouble choosing this one, but then I chose this approach . . . it's a rethinking of Oskar getting the Quest. ;D If you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't take it out on me, this 100 Themes is pretty much only for the RPers of my Percy Jackson and the Olympians RP, so save the bashing. :P**

**DISCLAIMER: THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL SAY IT, SO LISTEN UP! I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS! (Now, I WILL tell you whose characters all of these are at the end of every chapter, because I can't take credit for some of the brilliance. ;P**

~*~*~Chapter One, Theme One: Introduction~*~*~

Why? Why had he volunteered? Why had he raised his hand to retrieve the prophecy? Was it a spur of the moment? That he felt . . . like maybe he had to? Was it out of wanting to get respect? Did he want to finally beat his sister at something? The way she smirked at him, triumphant and arrogant . . . it was almost enough to make him wrinkle up his nose in contempt.

Or was it destiny?

Or just simply an impulse?

The last one seemed like the right one. An impulse. All of the half-bloods talking around the ping pong table, talking in hushed voices amongst themselves, some wanting to volunteer, but not. Some volunteering, but Chiron shaking his head. Finally, he had raised a timid hand and said he would go.

But why?

This was the number one question that plagued Oskar Sheinfeld's mind, but there were others as well. What was the Quest going to be about? What were they gong to have to do? How many others could he choose to go with him? And _who _would he choose? Since Luna, Toby and Arra were missing, they were out of the equation entirely. Maybe Bri . . . yes, Bri, pretty, lovely Bri. Definitely Bri. Oskar felt an odd sensation in his chest . . . it was sort of heavy, but light at the same time. Bri . . . he liked Bri. A lot. Maybe would love her if he got the time.

Oskar shook his head. Not the time.

He walked closer and closer to the porch, where he knew Rachel Dare, the oracle, would be waiting, thinking about other people he might take, depending on how many he could . . .

Maybe Jamie, the smart-aleck girl from Apollo cabin he'd grown to be friends with. Yulia, perhaps, the nice, smart Athena girl. Anybody else, he was not sure of.

Oskar opened the front door of the Big House quietly, as if to not disturb anyone that was outside, and walked out of it. There, on the swinging chair in front of the Big House, sat the oracle, her red hair glinting somewhat in the moonlight.

Oskar took a deep breath and walked slowly up to her, standing on mere inches in front of her before she finally looked up. She smiled and greeted him, but saw that his face was serious, and immediately hers turned so.

"Um, _guten tag_. I need a prophecy. It's - " Oskar began in his thick German accent, but was cut off by Rachel's sudden stony look. Her mouth opened mechanically, and she bent over. She would have tumbled off of the chair, if it wasn't for Oskar catching her and sitting her on the ground. His face grew worried, he had never seen Rachel give a prophecy before. It was frightening, even for a half-blood.

The young woman's body shuddered for a few seconds, and then green mist started pouring slowly out of her mouth. Several seconds later, she spoke in a chilling, robotic voice that was not of her own:

_Demigods and mortals seek to put out the flame,_

_Steal from the immortals, take from their pain. _

_Corporation against them in many pieces, _

_Six shall go to the old country, to gather weapons long past their date._

_The vexed be victims, saved when too late,_

_Experimented on for vital information of their kind forgetting hope and piece of mind. _

_Or Olympus shall rest with the humans fate._

The words of the prophecy sent chills down Oskar's spine. He heard the words echo in his head, and although there were a lot, he would not soon forget them.

Suddenly, the green mist curled back up into Rachel's mouth and it closed. She fell limply onto Oskar, who held her wearily. She took many deep breaths and then looked up at him and smiled faintly with encouragement.

"Better go recite that to them," she said.

Before he left to go back inside, Oskar helped the young woman back onto the chair, and asked her if she needed anything. She shook her head and looked off somewhere in the distance, as if remembering the prophecy like Oskar was, and mulling over what it meant. The truth was, she was probably doing exactly that.

Oskar pedaled back into the sky blue Big House and back to the meeting room, where all of the cabin leaders and one of their siblings they had chosen to come to the meeting if they wished, were waiting anxiously. He entered the room somewhat self-conciously, looking around at all of the faces in the room, of which their were many. Chiron gestured him to the head of the ping pong table.

Oskar recited the prophecy to all of the people in the room, and soon, an eerie silence fell across the room. Then, slowly, conversations trickled to life. Hushed voices started talking in distressed tones, wondering what _'demigods and mortals seek to put out the flame' _or _'the vexed shall be victims, saved when too__ late'_, could have meant.

Finally, a voice like bells to Oskar's ears broke through all of the talking, loud and powerful.

"The flame is western civilization, we all know that, but mortals are involved which can't be good," Bri said. "We know they stole Hermes sandles . . ." Indeed, everyone did. In fact, that, and the fact that many demigods had suddenly gone missing, vanished without a trace, was the reason why the meeting was called that night.

"The old country-where the Quest kids will be going is across the sea, Europe, maybe Asia and Africa. . . To gather some sort of weapons to defeat these guys . . . Some people were taken, but we only know of 5 . . . So other half-bloods that don't go to this camp might have been kidnapped too, being tortured and experimented on so they could already be dead for all we know - " she paused and shivered. "And if something isn't done Olympus will fall to humans."

Bri opened her eyes and took in some of the other demigods faces, deep in thought. "Either way, we need six people for this Quest."

All eyes turned to Oskar expectantly.

"Umm . . . Bri and Jamie." Oskar said almost immediately, from the thoughts in his head earlier. "And Yulia." He added as an afterthought. Who else? There had to be six Questers. Bri, Jamie and Yulia, along with him, made four. There needed to be two more.

He looked out over the crowd of half-bloods, trying to spot anybody he might know. He spotted a half-blood named Jack, one whose brother had been one of the half-bloods that had gone missing. It was the best person he had come up with so far.

"Jack," Oskar decided, to which the other boy only raised an eyebrow.

"And. . ." Oskar looked around the crowd of half-bloods again.

Bri grinned when she was chosen. "When do we leave?" She asked. "And how are we getting to Europe?"

"Wait, Rosianna," Chiron said. "There needs to be one more quest member."

Bri's real name was Rosianna Brianna Cebilla . . . but she liked to go by a nickname for her middle name, Bri. Maybe it fit her more . . . she wasn't really sure. But she had gotten used to being called Bri, so she just stuck with it.

Bri tapped her foot up and down impatiently. "I dunno. Maybe one of Toby or Luna's friends or sibs."

Toby and Luna . . . that made Oskar's face fall a little. They had gone missing . . . and they were his friends. If anything, he would find them. The Quest seemed to be tied to them, after all.

"How about Seth?" Jamie asked in a bored tone, but equally as impatient as Bri. "Besides me, he was Toby's favorite sib."

Oskar sighed. "Okay. So me, Jamie, Bri, Seth, Yulia and Jack. That's six. What do we do first?"

"Get some sleep," Chiron said. "Report to the stairs of the Big House after breakfast tomorrow."

"Fantastic," Bri said, standing up and walking out of the door.

Oskar smiled slightly as all of the campers filed out of the meeting room. He felt . . . important. The leader of a Quest. That counted for something special, right?

And that was the introduction of a very big, very messy adventure, one that wouldn't turn out so good in the end . . .

**Some of the lines were taken directly out of the RP, and for that they belong to their respected owner, FlyingToastersUnite, who is the owner of Bri, and then of course the creator of some of her lines in this story.**

**FlyingToastersUnite owns Bri, the Minotaur owns Jamie and Seth, and someone who hasn't been in the role-play since the beginning owns Yulia and Jack. Other characters mentioned will probably show up later.**

**I didn't come up with the prophecy . . . and I can't remember who did.**

**Next Theme: Love**


	2. Love

**Yes, here's another one. -.- I was so excited publishing the first one, and the Minotaur had a wonderful idea for the second theme, Love.**

**This one-shot is set in the future, and it pretty much ignores any plot twists that might happen in that time. It's about Jamie and Sean, now both fifteen, and Sean confessing his love for her. ;D **

~*~*~Chapter Two, Theme Two: Love~*~*~

How should he tell her?

Maybe it was a question that plagued his mind every day. Or, at least, every day since he had first arrived at Camp that year and saw her.

For once, Sean O'Cathain was lost. He normally knew what to do . . . or just jumped into something on an impulse, making a split-second decision. He was good at confronting his feelings . . . but sometimes times, not good at voicing them. Outwardly, he was happy, outgoing and joyful. Sometimes, inside, he would yearn for someone else to be the peace keeper, for someone else to sit by and comfort _him_. It was, of course, selfish, but desires were desires. And sometimes, he would inwardly argue with himself about things, the littlest things.

This matter, however, was _not _little. Not in the least.

How could he tell _her _that he _loved _her? This didn't have a resolution to it, even a small one. He had liked her ever since he had first met her . . . ever since she had asked for his phone number, and he had been so flustered that he had momentarily forgotten to give it to her. Then his face had gone hot when she had asked for it again . . . That was two years ago, they had been thirteen.

Sean sighed and looked over at Jamie, who was sitting on the dock beside him, humming a song that she had written. Their other friends had gone off somewhere . . . most likely to a party that the Ares cabin was holding for winning the Capture the Flag game. It had been Ares, with their allies, Apollo, Hephaestus, Hermes, Aphrodite, Hades and some minor god cabins, including Sean's very own, Tyche, against the Athena cabin and their allies. A good game, and it came _very _close, but in the end, a Hermes camper had _just _crossed the line with the flag, a minute before an Athena camper from the other side had.

Arra had told him that Jamie liked him too, that they had been flirting. But was that really true? He didn't think that Arra would lie, but did Jamie really like _him_? She had so many other guys to go for . . . guys that were better at fighting and were more muscular and more handsome. She had her picks of guys, he was sure. So why would she choose him?

Sean sighed quietly, and looked over at Jamie again. She looked over at him when he had sighed, and their eyes met for a moment before Sean cast his back down, to the water of the lake that was glittering with lights from the far off cabins and the moon.

"Something wrong?" Jamie asked in a voice that was so casual that Sean almost believed that nothing was wrong for a few moments.

"No," Sean said, with a little stutter to his voice, and shook his head.

Jamie tilted her head a little, shrugged, then looked out over the lake. "Okay."

Sean sighed again, relieved. Jamie looked over at him again and knit her eyebrows. She gave him a weird look, for about a minute until he looked at her.

"You okay?" Sean asked jokingly with a smile.

Jamie giggled and nodded. "Yep, of course."

Sean nodded and looked across the lake again. No one was around . . . this was the perfect opportunity, right? Yes, surely. But how could he do it? How could he tell her that he _loved _her? Was he just supposed to come out with it, and say it, "I love you". Or was he supposed to give hints to it, hints to the facts that he loved her? Not entirely say it, but wait for her to figure it out? Somehow that didn't seem right . . . but coming out with it was _very _hard.

"H-hey, Jamie," Sean said quietly, but she still heard him. She looked over at him.

"Yeah?"

"I - " Was he really going to do it? At this moment? This time? Maybe . . . no . . . yes . . . no . . . yes . . .

_What am I going to do? _Sean thought desperately, then looked up at her. Her eyes . . . ever changing in shades of brown, were now a light light amber, happy and glinting. He smiled shyly at her. Her skin seemed glowing in the moonlight, and her new hair style, now long than when she was thirteen, and layered, still dyed black, but now with blue streaks. She wore just the right amount of make-up, an amount that high-lighted her face perfectly. None of these little details came to his mind, but all he could see was how beautiful she was, especially right in that moment . . . not many things were perfect, he knew, but Sean couldn't help thinking about how Jamie broke that law with one look at her.

"You?" Jamie asked with a playful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"I . . ." Now. It was now or never. "Jamie . . . I love you."

For what felt like an agonizing eternity for Sean, they just stared at each other, amber eyes meeting green ones. Jamie's mouth opened a little, revealing a little curvy line, but not an "O". There was a silence, but not eerie, more of a calm silence, one in which none of the rest of the world mattered but those two, right there, at that moment. Even the crickets and the monsters that occasionally were heard fro the woods seemed to quiet. Even the celebrating campers by the cabins seemed to hush their voices. Even their booming stereo seemed to lower. The song was slow, an American tune that Sean didn't recognize, though if Jamie said something good, it would definitely of fit the moment.

Sean felt his face flush and looked looked away. Silence was never good. "Sorry, I - "

Then, Jamie smiled, almost giddily. Sean saw it out of the corner of his eye and looked up. The flush of his face turned into happiness. Smiling was good, right?

Jamie leaned closer to him, so their faces were almost touching. Sean could feel her breath on his face, ever so light, smelling of . . . Dr. Pepper? Oh, who cared. There eyes met again, this time staring for what seemed like endless minutes to Sean, while he waited for her to do anything else.

"No need to be sorry," Jamie whispered, smiling wider, her initial shock now gone. "Because I love you too."

And then, their lips meant, in moments of complete bliss for both of them. The time of that was too short, so meager compared to the excruciating wait of her answer, that it seemed almost nonexistent to Sean.

But that didn't mean it wasn't one of the best moments of his life.

When the kiss broke apart, Jamie rested her forehead on his, smiling widely, perfectly.

Sean didn't know what to say, like he normally did. One of those conflicting times again, one of those times in which he seemed almost useless. Was he supposed to say anything at all? That normally helped him, Sean just being the person he was.

If possible, Jamie's smile turned larger and she pulled her forehead off of his, then grabbed his left hand, the hand that was closest to hers. Jamie swung both of their hands in between them, that smile still on her face, and she began to hum. It was a love song, an older one that Sean actually recognized. Slowly, he picked up her tune, and the two sat there, until the end of the song, humming, with the moonlight pouring down on them, the water beneath them, and the sounds of Camp floating everywhere around them, in many perfect moments.

**Hehe . . . fluff. XD **

**Yet again, Jamie is owned, and will forever be owned, by the Minotaur. Mino also came up with the idea for this theme, Sean and Jamie older in love (because at the moment they only have crushes on each other), and I just wrote it. So, thanks, Mino! :D Sean is owned by me. :)**


	3. Light

**This time, the theme is 'Light'! I decided to make this one humorous, since the net few are going to be darker. 'Light' is about Apollo in his sun car, yet again getting distracted and having troubles! Enjoy!**

**And by the way, I wanted to give Maiden of Eternal Longevity a thank you because she helped me decide what to do for 'Light'! Thank you, Mel!**

~*~*~Chapter Three, Theme Three: Light~*~*~

It was mornings like these that made him love his job. The birds chirping away, the sleepy New England towns still in blissful sleep, the cool September morning air caressing his face. And, of course, driving in his awesome ride, a Maserati Spyder, always made his day good. Well, mostly.

Maybe not today.

Though when the other gods looked back on the tale and laughed, he had to admit that he did see what was funny about it.

Apollo had been having a wonderful morning, driving in his sun car over the horizon, waking up mortals that needed to go to work, children that needed to go to school. The many good things about morning were happening, and Apollo thought that maybe he would even stop by a small town for a coffee later that morning, maybe pick up a college girl.

But when you're a god, things get turned around quite easily.

Since he was so happy, Apollo wanted to make that morning's sunrise special, with pink, and even purple, streaking the sky, instead of just a glowing orange. To add some extra pizazz to the sunrise, he would need to just honk his horn, and the orange would mix in with other brilliant colors.

So, he did. But too bad the sun god was unprepared for what would happen next.

When Apollo honked the horn of his sun car, and was prepared to be amazed by the spectacular view of the sunrise. Unfortunately, his view was blocked by a sudden array of bright, square-shaped pieces of confetti, all different colored papers. Apollo closed his eyes and the sun car dropped a little, but he opened his eyes and steadied it, then spit a few pieces of different colored confetti out of his mouth.

Apollo's eyes narrowed, his brain starting to piece together what could have possibly happened. Flashy squares of paper, somehow coming out of his wheel when he honked it's horn. Ultimately, it was a prank. And one person, one god, always came to Apollo's mind, if not all of the gods' minds, when it came to pranks.'

Hermes.

Apollo sighed. "Why?" He called to the sky, hoping that that one particular god would hear it. Surely he was close by, watching Apollo, and probably laughing at the sun god's reaction.

Suddenly, Hermes appeared out of thin air, now sitting in the passenger's side seat of the golden Maserati Spyder.

"Because it's fun," he replied with an impish grin.

Apollo sighed dramatically. "But we're friends, right? Why didn't you go do something to Ares or something?"

Hermes started to run the nail of one of his index fingers along the outside of the car, on the gleaming golden paint.

"Oh, because your reactions are always the best," Hermes said inattentively, as if it made complete sense. Which it kind of did.

"But it's not fun for me!" Apollo said, and looked over at him. "I thought we were friends, so you're not supposed to ruin my perfect morning by - " he stopped and knit his eyebrows, noticing what Hermes was doing to his car. "STOP THAT! Stop that now!"

Hermes looked over at him, an amused smirk on his face, but he continued to scratch at the car. "Stop what?"

"Stop that, that . . . thing you're doing with your finger!" Apollo shouted stupidly.

"Oh, you mean _this_?" Hermes asked. He stuck two of his fingers in the air, then brought them down on the car, and began scraping it again.

"Stop!" Apollo shouted, his face turning red. "I'm going to blast you out of here if you keep scratching my baby!"

Hermes rasied an eyebrow, an amused look still on his face. "Awe, you say that every time, it never happens."

"It will happen!" Apollo roared, not paying attention to driving at all now.

"Oh, but it won't," Hermes said with an elfish smirk. "See, you always say that when I _touch _one of your 'babies'."

Apollo had three 'babies'. They were special to him, and they weren't half-bloods, those he considered his _children_. No, Apollo's babies were as followed. Number one, his bow. Number two, his sun car. And number three, his lyre. Anybody that messed with those . . . well, most didn't come away without a scratch. Mortals usually didn't last long after that, hence Apollo infesting his golden bow with a disease that would rapidly advance to kill someone in a matter of weeks.

Gods of course, were different, especially ones that Apollo actually _liked_. Gods like Hermes, Poseidon, even the occasional other ones, like Aphrodite or Hephaestus. If any mortal touched one of Apollo's precious 'babies' without his permission, it was never good for them. If any god did, they of course couldn't die, but Apollo wouldn't let them just get away with it.

Normally.

But Hermes was sly in avoiding trouble.

"Yeah, but this time you might ruin it!" Apollo whined.

Hermes grinned mischievously and started scratching the car with three fingers. "So?"

Apollo growled and in one swift motion, grabbed onto Hermes wrist and pulled his hand off of the sun car. When Apollo let go of it, Hermes cradled his right hand in his left one and seemed to pout a little.

"I think you sprained my hand," he mumbled pitifully, while Apollo smiled triumphantly.

"Ha!"

Hermes eyes suddenly widened. "Hey Apollo, watch out for the pegasus!"

Apollo laughed. "I'm not falling for that one again, little brother!"

"No, I'm serious - " Hermes said, when suddenly a white wall smashed into the passenger's side of the car and cut off hit words. It had wings, a glistening white coat, and a long, shiny mane of the same color.

_A pegasus_, Apollo thought with a smirk, not taking in that this pegasus could have potentially hurt baby number two. _So he wasn't lying._

The pegasus tumbled out of the air with a few angry neighs, which for all they knew, could have been profanity. It's bellows were lost in the sounds of the morning as it descended down to the Earth, where it would hopefully get over shock and fly before it hit.

Hermes was gasping for breath, and the whole time, Apollo was laughing so hard that his sides started to cramp up. He looked over at Hermes, whose eyes were a little wild, and who had a scrape on his face that had golden ichor running out of it and down his face. Apollo laughed even harder, if that was possible, then composed himself and grabbed the wheel again.

"That's what you get!" He shouted, a giddy smile on his face.

"I think your baby got it too," Hermes muttered sulkily.

Apollo's face went dead serious, and he glared at Hermes. "It better not have, 'cause you'd be paying Hephaestus the repair job, and maybe I'd even get upgrades!"

Hermes groaned. "Great."

Apollo smirked a little. "Yep, for me."

Hermes sighed, and then abruptly, there was a thud-like sound, and when the two gods looked, something was on the windshield of Apollo's Maserati Spyder.

Glaring at them both angrily in the eyes was the minor wind god, Boreas of the north winds.

"You know, Notus was complaining about this only a few months ago!" Boreas complained, manipulating the wind to carry him above the sun car. "Do you two have nothing better to do but run into harmless air creatures and minor gods?"

And then, while Apollo and Hermes sat there with a very odd cross between bored and amused looks on their faces, Boreas began lecturing them about how the world would be nowhere without the minor gods, and how air creatures were the most brilliant animals on Earth and not to be messed with in any funny or terrible way.

"You know, I am driving the sun at the moment," Apollo said in a bored fashion. "And you aren't exactly helping."

Boreas scoffed. "Good for nothing riff-raff kids." He said indignantly, jutting his chin up in defiance. Then, in a swirl of wind and clouds, he was gone. The wind died down once he left, and the clouds settled.

"Wow. . ." Hermes said with a smirk on his face.

"Tell me about it," Apollo said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I'm done now, wanna go get some coffee?"

Hermes raised an eyebrow. "Sure . . . why?"

"To get some chicks, duh!" Apollo exclaimed matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Hermes said, as if it just hit him at that moment. Which it did. "Yeah, okay!"

Apollo grinned and swerved the sun car down, to a New England college town. But would he be mad when he saw the damage the pegasus had done to his car . . .

Hephaestus never exactly went easy on pirces for repairs, so Apollo had made Hermes pay for it all, because technically, it was all his fault.

Oh well. Upgrades to his car, those were always good.

**Ha, that was random. XD**

**Next Theme: Dark**


	4. Dark

**Okay everyone, this theme is 'Dark'! I decided to write about Gabriel when he was young, being abused by his stepdad.**

**Just a forewarning, this chapter and the couple of chapters are a little more, er, dark than the other ones, and probably when the 'T' aspect of the story is going to come into play! But enjoy anyway.**

Gabriel Désiré was never scared of the dark. He didn't know why, because most kids his age were. They were afraid that monsters were going to come out of the closet and eat them, or something weird like that. But Gabriel, he was never afraid of the dark. He _liked _the dark. He _liked _the skeleton and demon and monster costumes that were out on Halloween. Gabriel, to a lot, was a creepy little kid, if they got to know him enough.

So most people didn't. And this brought it's own set of problems. Gabriel needed a friend. In his whole six years, he had wished for one. But alas, he was still eating by himself at lunch, and playing on the monkey bars by himself at recess.

But now, Gabriel wasn't at school, which he actually grew to like somewhat. Well, anywhere outside his home. He was inside a dark closet, one where the shadows of jackets and other various items might have scared another little kid. But not Gabriel. He seemed to see the shadows bend into shapes, shapes of creepy things that nobody else would like.

Gabriel wasn't afraid of the dark. He wasn't afraid of scary shadows. He wasn't afraid of monsters of skeletons. Gabriel wasn't even afraid of being lonely.

Six-year-old Gabriel was scared of his stepfather.

His mother had married a few years before, and for the first two years, everything had been peaceful. But then, when Gabriel had started kindergarten, his stepfather had started doing horrible things to him. His stepfather had started to come home, angrier than anything Gabriel had ever seen. Once, when Gabriel had been trying to escape to his room, it had first happened. His stepfather had lashed out and hit him on the cheek, which soon turned into a big, brown bruise.

And then he was done. But that was only the first time.

The next few times, it had become worse. Bruises showing up on his arms and legs and stomach. He even bled some.

And now, his stepfather was looking for him again. This time, Gabriel had decided to hide. Maybe the tall man would forget what he was doing, and go somewhere else. Or maybe he just wouldn't find Gabriel, and he could escape to school the next morning. Maybe he could find his mother.

But his mother didn't seem to care. She sat by while he got hit, seemingly uncaring. Gabriel had cried out, begged his stepfather to stop, begged his mother to help him, but she hadn't. Wasn't his mother supposed to love him? He'd seen movies in which mothers loved their sons more than anything else in the world. So why didn't his mother?

"Gabe! Gabriel! Bastard, where are you?" He had heard his stepfather call, somewhere on the other side of the house. His stepfather used words like that all of the time, and his mother told Gabriel _never _to repeat them. They were 'bad words', never to be used. Then why did is stepfather use them? Why were adults aloud to do these things?

Then Gabriel heard crashing: things being thrown around the house, toppled over. He heard his father overturn the couch in their living room, and immediately following it was the sound of a glass shattering. Then, Gabriel heard his mother scream something at his stepfather. They started shouting words back and forth at each other, words Gabriel could only make out a few of. And then, he heard something that made his blood curdle. His mother screamed, one long, eerie scream that would be heard in nightmares. Then, there was silence. Gabriel seemed to sit there forever, in that closet, while there wasn't a word. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound.

Then, eeriely, the closet door opened. Gabriel held his breath deep in his throat, hoping that hs stepfather wouldn't notice him among the coats and boxes. But he wasn't very well hidden, because after a few seconds of looking, his stepfather spotted him, and pulled him roughly from the closet. Gabriel yelped at the sharp tug on his arm, and was soon flung out into the hallway.

"Why were you in the closet, boy?" His stepfather asked in a brusque voice. Gabriel took a step back and his stepfather grabbed his arm and squeezed it hard, his untamed nails digging into Gabriel's forearm.

"WHY WERE YOU IN THE CLOSET?" He demanded, and Gabriel noted an odd, vulgar smell coming from his mouth. He'd smelled it before coming from his stepfather's mouth, and found it disgusting.

Gabriel looked up at the hulking form of his stepfather, eyes wide. "I . . . I d-don't know."

"You don't know?" His stepfather said in a low voice. He let go of Gabriel's arm and stepped back, then threw his head back and roared in laughter. "You hear that, Morgan, he don't know!"

There were now four red, large nail marks on Gabriel's arm, and two of them were bleeding. Gabriel grimaced and then his face went tight. He looked back up at his stepfather, then his eyes quickly went down to the ground, for his stepfather was staring at him, his hateful animal eyes boring into Gabriel's face.

"So, if you don't know, that's okay," he slurred, and took a few steps closer. Gabriel flinched and stepped back, but his stepfather grabbed him, by the same arm, which caused Gabriel to cry out.

"I'm sorry," Gabriel mumbled, a few tears coming to his eyes. "I didn't mean to."

Gabriel's stepfather smirked coldly. "You didn't _mean _to?"

Gabriel shook his head silently.

"Oh, that's a good one, you little shit," his stepfather whispered in his ear, so close that Gabriel flinched at the sound of his slurry voice.

"Little bastard," his stepfather breathed in his ear. And then Gabriel felt a hard fist on his stomach, and the wind was knocked out of him. He grunted, but didn't have the time to cry out, because his stepfather landed him with another swift punch, another one to the stomach. He hit him again one more time, this punch catching Gabriel on the shoulder, and then threw his stepson to the side of him.

Gabriel felt hot tears streaming down his face as he breathed heavily in and out, trying to get rid of the pain on his stomach and shoulder. Blood rushed in his ears, blocking out most sounds, and his eyes were a little fuzzy.

His stepfather staggered down the hallway, but then turned around and glared with loathing in his eyes down the hallway. He staggered back over to Gabriel, while screaming something unintelligible.

Then he landed Gabriel with a sudden kick to the stomach, then another two. Gabriel's body racked with sobs as the man walked away, back down the hall. Through the fuzz buzzing through his ears, Gabriel heard the front door to their house slam, and then his stepfather's car sped off down the street.

Gabriel started coughing while still sobbing, the pain in his stomach almost unbearable. He didn't even register the pain on his arm or shoulder, because his stomach was hurting so much more. Gabe was coughing hard, so hard, that something spilled out of his mouth, and when he looked down through bleary eyes, he saw something bright red. It looked like water that had bubbled over too long, dyed a psychedelic red.

Finally, Gabriel slumped over on the floor.

Later, he wasn't sure how much later, the little boy felt himself being picked up by someone, and then he was carried somewhere. First, the person cleaned up his arm and mouth, then took him somewhere else, and put him on something soft, tucked him under something warm.

Over the next few years, Gabriel would become so used to the beatings that he wouldn't even flinch.

**Sorry for the profanity and violence, but that's why this is rated 'T'. X(**

**Mino didn't really give a description on Gabe's life, just the fact that his stepfather beat him, so I kind of had to take his life and use my imagination. ;P I hope this is okay, Mino!**

**By the way, as you all should know, Gabriel is Mino's character. ;) And remember that he is a little kid in this one-shot, so he doesn't act like the Gabriel we all know and love. Duh. :P**


	5. Seeking Solace

**I am back after a couple days of absence with the fifth theme, 'Seeking Solace'. This is about James and Ari breaking up, because, no offense to anyone, she IS cuter with Gabe! ;)**

~*~*~Chapter Five, Theme Five: Seeking Solace~*~*~

Solace.

Was that too much for a hurting daughter of Aphrodite to ask for? She was always optimistic. _Always_. As far as other people were concerned. But something she never dreamed of had happened.

Ari Johnson's boyfriend and her had just broken up.

It didn't seem all that bad, considering other half-bloods problems, and even what she had gone through in the past. But still . . . it _was _bad, for her. Break-ups always were, for anyone really. Especially a daughter of the goddess of love. Wasn't that supposed to mean that the first boy she had ever truly fallen madly in love with was supposed to be hers forever, a real kind of love that people seldomly had anymore? Like soulmates?

The answer was no. Even Aphrodite seemed to like playing love tricks on her own.

Ari said in an alleyway, still close enough to the street for someone to see her if they really looked, but not close enough for random people that were walking by to see her. It sky was cloudless, almost a sin for how she felt. The stars twinkled brilliantly, and the nearly full moon cast shadows in the dark alley. The city of New Orleans was bustling with life, like normal. But Ari tried to block it all out as she cried.

Ari heard pitiful sobs escape from her, but she didn't try to stop them. Her face was wet with salty tears, but she didn't try to wipe them away. Mascara was running in lines down her cheek, but Ari didn't even think to find somewhere to wash the make-up away. All she cared about now was the break-up. How had it gone again?

_"James . . . we haven't been seeing a lot of each other lately. . ."_

_James had looked at her with dangeroulsy dark eyes. "I'm sorry, Ari, it's - "_

_"No, please, just . . . I'm ending it. We haven't been seeing each other a lot, and I just . . . I'm so sorry, James."_

_Why _had she done that? _Why_? She loved him . . . James, son of Ares, with his fiery temper and quick tongue. But he was so brave, and sweet to _her_, even if not to everyone. Why had she done that?

In the back of her mind, Ari new the answer: Gabe.

She had spent much more time with him than she had her own boyfriend. The last few times she had been around him, Ari had felt something stirring inside her. She felt warm feelings when she was around Gabe, she felt safe around him, and most of all, she liked him. A lot. Maybe even more than she liked James.

But why? She was a daughter of the goddess of love, and not one of those that found a boyfriend and dated him for a few weeks, then dumped him for someone hotter or better. No, Ari believed in true love, the way she figured her mom might like it.

But maybe her mom had been playing with her all along.

"No," Ari whispered to herself, shaking her head from side to side slightly. She refused to believe it.

Ari wrapped her arms around herself and leaned further back into the brick wall of the building. She took in the scents around her, even if they weren't pleasant. And the sounds. The sounds of the joyous city. It _almost _made her happy. It would have on any other night. But whenever she felt a surge of happiness coming on, whether it was the excited city or the thought of Gabe, she was immediately overwhelmed by dread.

Solace _would _have been good at that moment.

Soon, Ari started to drift off a little, the sounds of New Orleans getting fuzzier, and the smells fading. Faintly, Ari could hear her name being called somewhere down the street, time and time again, by different sets of voices. Her ears perked and she listened to them, her eyes closed as they had been for the past few minutes. One, she could tell right away. Gabe. No mistaking a voice like that. The next took a few more seconds, but she identified the person as Remy. The next was another male's voice, Alex. How come Ari seemed to have so many guy friends? Not that she cared, but her best friend, Cara, was off halfway across the world in Ireland.

Maybe, if one of them found her, they could offer comfort.

After another few minutes, or what Ari assumed to be another few minutes, she heard her name again, this time, closer, right in front of her.

"Ari," Gabriel's voice whispered, and Ari's eyes snapped open. At first, everything was hazy and dark, then Ari's eyes came into focus. Gabe was kneeling in front of her, a cute, worried look on his face. Ari almost smiled at it, but then she felt more tears come to her eyes, except these ones were dry, since she had already used up her quota. It was wrong, thinking she should even think of Gabe in a loving way after what she had just done to James.

"Ari," Gabe said again, even softer this time. He looked uncomfortable, a little frantic, even. And definitely worried.

Ari shifted so she now sat up on her knees, and outstretched her arms to him. After a few seconds of hesitation, Gabe opened up his, and Ari fell into him, sobbing dry sobs into his chest.

Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

**Short, sweet, and solace seeking. ;) **

**Ari belongs to iheartbluetoo, and Gabe of course, belongs to Mino. :P She's right, next chapter has a strict, NO MINO policy. ;P**


	6. Break Away

**I am finally writing another chapter! ^_^ This one is about the kidnapped kids and their final escape! Enjoy!**

**And the no Mino policy will not work for this. -.- I decided to do third person point of views from all characters, so Chase, Jamie and Toby will make an appearance. -.-**

**I WILL GET YOU NEXT TIME, MINO! ;P**

~*~*~Chapter Six, Theme Six: Break Away~*~*~

_"I don't want to be a monster who kills innocent people. We want to free you guys, or help you escape or whatever. Matt has crossed the line far too long ago and I'm fed up with it."_

_"And why should we believe that? You all tortured us. Almost killed most." _

_"What else do you have? You have a fifty-fifty chance, if you think about it. You come with us, or you stay here. If you stay here, you know what happens. You'll die. . .but if you trust us, then you have a fifty-fifty chance of coming out alive."_

_"I . . . kind of believe we should give them a chance."_

_"Me too."_

_"Fine. Tell us your plan."_

And now they were going to go through with it. The plan for escape, given to them by three people who were their enemies. Or, used to be, if they really intended to help them.

The plan was simple, something that the kids could of came up with themselves. If they had the strength too. The problem was, even after a little hope, their minds just didn't seem to function a good escape plan. And, they couldn't do it, either. With how weak they all were. But the water, and the food, and the ambrosia, it helped. The plan: Lyssa, daughter of Iris, was to create a portal, which the kids could easily pass through and be transported somewhere else, to Camp. Sean, son of Tyche, would put one of his 'good luck charms' on the portal, to strengthen it. It was simple and affective.

If it worked. Which they all hoped to the gods that it would. That these three kids - Shula, Nathaniel and Jackie - could help them.

Hope had been weak in that cell room. They had all been tortured, beaten, defeated. Oskar had just recently discovered that he had cancer. Bri was afraid to go near him. Even with the good, Toby and Luna and Chase and Lyssa reuniting, Jamie healing Sean, it wasn't enough to make there hope grow strong. Not until those three came in with a plan did everyone feel hope. Sure, some that weren't there very long, like the Questers, might have had hope, but for the others, escape was a blissful dream.

Until this. Lyssa was finally making the portal, and they were all excited. Red, orange, green, blue, violet - all mixing together in their own little wall of rainbow. A light green light glowed around the whole thing, Sean's good luck 'charm'.

The portal started to widen until it was a circle, about ten feet by ten feet.

"Go! Hurry!" One of their - old? - enemies shouted. A girl, with black hair and an Arabic complexion.

They all started jumping through - Jamie, Toby, Luna, Rosalie, Lexie, Kay and Kaiden, Arra, Bri, Oskar, Chase. Sean was one of the last five people in. Shula pushed Jackie and Nathaniel in before her. Then, she grabbed Seth and Lyssa, and pulled them in with her.

When they all appeared on the other end of the portal, they were in Camp Half-Blood. All of them. Even Jackie, who nobody seemed to notice at that moment.

When the last three appeared, Jamie, with Toby on her heels, was heading straight for the Mess Hall.

Jamie, of course, was elated as she walked around Camp, navigating her way easily to the Mess Hall, even in the dim light. She knew they could waste no time gawking, and so had, of course, set a determined course for the Pavilion right away. She heard music coming from there, and saw wild lights, so she knew that was where they needed to head. There was probably some party going on. And she was going to crash it.

Toby, who was following her closely, was more awed and less determined then his 'twin'. He looked around the Camp, amazed and overjoyed at the sight of his beloved second home. Every few seconds, he would notice that Jamie was way ahead of him, and run to catch up with her.

Luna followed several feet behind Toby, smiling with a wonder feeling. Finally, she was out of that place! After everything that happened, she was back at Camp Half-Blood. No more scratching her wrists in her misery and locking other people out. No more of that. She imagine lazy days to come at Camp. Lying with Toby on the beach, making out with him in the shallow woods, riding pegasus. It was almost too good to be true.

The next four to step through were Rosalie, Lexie, Kay and Kaiden.

Rosalie looked around and smiled, glad to be back.

Lexie jumped for joy, a wide grin on her face. Her father _did _care about her, and no one would tell her otherwise. If he didn't, then she would probably be dead to the hands of cruel mortals. Her father did care, she _always _knew it.

Kaiden and Kay were, of course, baffled. They had never been to Camp Half-Blood before.

Arra, Bri, Oskar and Chase were next.

Arra smiled widely, barely being able to contain a squeal. She bounced on the balls of her feet, but when she saw the others trailing Toby and Jamie to the Mess Hall, she had to walk after them.

Bri and Oskar stepped through holding each others' hands, and they both smiled with relief and remembrance at the sight of the sky blue Big House, the cabins, the monster noises in the distance. Oskar sighed and tightened his grip on Bri's hand as they followed the others.

Chase waited for Lyssa, liking what he saw. From the stories the others told about Camp Half-Blood, it was even more glorious than they made it out to be.

Next to walk out was Sean. He looked around the Camp, taking everything in. It was astounding, it really was. Everything was so green, and alive. He heard music in the distance, and even though it might not have been his preference, the slow, soulful lyrics filled his heart with a pleasant feeling. He felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders, right then and there.

Jackie and Nathaniel tumbled out next. Jackie looked around in astonishment. She was a mortal, and even though she had worked for the Doc and knew all about half-bloods, she thought that the magnificence of Camp Half-Blood had been exaggerated.

Nathaniel was less happy, because all he could think about was his family. Maybe he was stupid for doing this, for helping these kids escape, because the Doc and Matt held his family's lives at stake. Maybe he could find them, warn them. Hopefully it wasn't too late.

Shula, Lyssa and Seth stumbled out after them.

Looking around, Shula wondered if the gods could be so bad, if they gave their kids a place like this. It was nice, serene. Not the place that she pictured her terrible father having helped create or plan, or even guiding his kids to.

Lyssa immediately grabbed Chase's hand, and while glancing this way and that, followed the others to the Mess Hall.

Seth and Lexie reunited and walked to the Mess Hall together.

Sure, they knew things were far from over, but breaking away . . . breaking away from that horrible, dreadful, putrid place in Wyoming . . . it was worth the feeling of being happy.

**Chase, Jamie, Seth and Toby are owned by Mino. Bri is owned by FlyingToastersUnite. Luna and Nathaniel are owned by randomemocreeper. Rosalie is owned by Fleur Hazel. Lexie is owned by Cookies. Kay and Kaiden are owned by Carlaina. Arra and Jackie are owned by iheartbluetoo. And, of course, Sean, Shula and Oskar are owned by me.**


	7. Heaven

**Okay, this is the chapter in which the NO MINO POLICY wll actually come into play. None of her characters will be mentioned or show up. **

**This theme is called Heaven, and it's about Bri and Oskar meeting up in Elysium!**

**So yeah . . . enjoy! **

~*~*~Chapter Seven, Theme Seven: Heaven~*~*~

Oskar sighed. It _was _boring here. Behind the beautiful scenery, the lush lawns and the practically glittering houses, it was boring. So . . . this was like heaven, but that didn't mean it was even mildly interesting. He sighed, watching a ghostly couple float by him, smiling and talking. They were half-bloods, heroes, like most of the people in this quaint little valley. The boy, of about eighteen years of age (in his ghost form, anyway), was big and burly, with a hard face but a kind expression. The girl was beautiful, there was no doubt, with long and flowing black hair, and skin that seemed to shine in the fake sunlight. Oskar knew that he should have known who they were . . . but he couldn't quite place it, and besides, he had other things on his mind.

The dead couple reminded him of himself and Bri. Maybe it was selfish . . . but he wanted her back, He loved her. His heart that was no longer beating ached for her. Every time he saw a translucent head of red hair, he would turn around, just to make sure. Just to make sure that it wasn't Bri.

He knew it was futile . . . Bri wouldn't be down in Elysium so soon. Would she?

_No, surely not_, he thought, and gazed after the ghostly couple until they disappeared down the around a street corner.

_She can't be, there is no reason_, Oskar thought, but he knew that there was a reason. She was a half-blood, it was as simple as that. Bri could die any day.

Part of Oskar didn't want her to. She had so much more to live for . . .her sister, friends, falling in love with another man, getting a job, having children. Bri had so much to live for, so much more than he had had. As far as he was concerned, all that he had in the world of the living _was _Bri. She was the only person that he had cared about. He would have loved to have married her, had children . . . Oskar would have loved to have a life with Bri. But of course, that was a dream where there would be no result. There couldn't be. He was dead, Bri was living. They couldn't have a life together. Not anymore.

But part of him did want her to come to Elysium. He couldn't really say that he wanted her to die, it sounded so horrible . . . but he did want to see her again, to hold her, like the burly guy had done to his girlfriend. Ghosts could do that, Oskar wanted that.

Oskar sighed wistfully and shifted slightly on the fountain that he was sitting on, even though he technically did _need _to sit anywhere. Oh well. It was like eating. The dead didn't _need _to eat, but that didn't mean that they _couldn't_, or didn't enjoy it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oskar spotted something that made his head snap to the left. A girl, around his age, had just drifted past the street where he was on, and had continued down the one adjacent to it.

No, it couldn't be . . . it was just another one of his hopeless dreams. It was. It was. It was. It _was not _Bri.

But no matter how much Oskar told himself these things, he couldn't help getting up and following the girl.

Oskar turned corners of the streets, following much behind the ghost girl that she had seen. Curly red hair . . . gymnast build, skinny. It couldn't be Bri . . . the girl had to have just been a look-a-like from the back.

Oskar turned another street corner, and was surprised to find that he had almost completely caught up with the girl.

She had stopped, but was still facing with her back toward her. The ghost girl was hugging somebody . . . a woman, probably in her mid-20's. The woman also had red hair . . . a pretty, slight face. Green eyes. She looked . . . she looked like an older version of Bri.

Oskar remembered something that Bri had told him about her past, about her sister that had brought her to Camp Half-Blood. Surely not. This had to just be a coincidence. Maybe in this light, she looked like Bri. Maybe if he just moved . . .

Before he could, the woman caught his eye, and her face grew curious. Her dull eyes now shown with a small spark, and her face suddenly lifted a little more. She raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. The girl that was hugging her looked up, and, seeing the woman's expression, turned around, almost too fast for Oskar to be prepared for anything that came next.

When he saw her, Oskar's non-beating heart felt like it had been caught in his throat. He stared at her for a good, long minute, before doing anything. Her hair . . . the curly, red hair. Her eyes, green and as luminescent as ever. Her freckles, the countless numbers of them. Her gymnasit's body, as beatiful as ever.

She _was _Bri. She was, she was, she was . . .

Oskar felt a wide, delighted grin cross his face. His cheeks balled up with it, and his eyes lit up. Almost at the same time, a small smile graced _her _face. Her eyes lit up as well, and Oskar could even swear there were a few tears in them.

Then, Oskar went toward her, very fast. She smiled even wider and floated even closer toward him. They met, and in perfect harmony, Oskar brought his hands up to her face and touched her cheeks, very gently, glad to be able to caress her again. She smiled as she looked up at him, and he returned the smile.

Oskar brought his face closer to her's, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, there lips met, and didn't brake apart for a long, long time.

When Oskar finally broke apart from her, he was smiling even wider.

"I have missed you so much," he whispered.

Bri's smile didn't waver. "I missed you too."

**Bri is owned by FlyingToastersUnite, and Oskar is owned by me. :)**


	8. Innocence

**Okay, so as you all know, I've started school again. :P With this comes classes, and with classes comes homework. Now, I'm in this, er, special-ish class thing, and we have to do a project for every quarter. Luckily for me, this quarter we're doing a literacy project, and I get to write a story! :D But unfortunately, I won't be able to write many one-shots while doing this, so I thought that I would give you one last one until I can start writing more, so, enjoy! :)**

~*~*~Chapter Eight, Theme Eight: Innocence~*~*~

The five-year-old sobbed once more, dryly, because her tears had long since receded. She still felt like crying, but the problem was that she couldn't. A while ago, her tears had just stopped. Just like that. But her sobs didn't. So she continued to sob dryly, gasping for breath every so often.

It just wasn't fair. None of it was. Why had her mother abandoned her? Had she been a bad girl? Was it the time that her mother had found her stealing some M'n'M's out of the cupboard? Or when she was playing outside when she was supposed to be doing homework? Or was it that time when her mother had to come to the daycare, just because she had pushed that stupid, slimy Cindy Perkins to the ground at recces?

Maybe it was all of it . . . maybe her mom had just gotten tired of her. Yes, that was it . . . her mom couldn't stand her anymore.

The thought made Cassie whimper.

A knock broke the silence that had enveloped her bedroom for the past few hours. Then, a voice, one she recognized. But it didn't bring her any comfort, because she knew that it wasn't her mother calling her to supper.

"Cassie, dinner's ready!" A teenaged male's voice shouted from outside her closed bedroom door.

She didn't make a move, or do anything to answer him. At the mention of dinner, she felt her stomach growl, but she ignored it and turned over on her other side, facing the door. Her room was completely dark, as the sun was setting earlier now. The only light came from the outside hallway, and most of it was now blocked by the shadow of the older boy standing outside the door. Cassie wanted to tell him to go away, to leave her alone, but she didn't speak a word. She didn't really want to. Hopefully, he wouldn't open the door . . .

But of course, he did.

The door creaked open, and light poured into her dark room. Cassie squinted as the light hit her eyes, and she groaned a little bit. She pulled her stuffed teddy bear closer to her face, covering her mouth and nose with it, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hey Cass . . . Cass, are you . . . alright?" The teenage boy asked, concern in his voice as he said the last few words of his sentence.

He walked closer, bending down near her bedside and examining her. Her eyes were puffy, red and blood-shut. Her nose was stuffy, and her intake of breath was choppy. He knit his eyebrows in concern and looked her in the eyes for a few seconds, before she shut hers and shook her head feverishly.

"I'm fine! Go away, Remy!" She said in a quiet voice.

Remy tilted his head a little and ran a finger through her curly black hair. "Cassie . . . what happened, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Cassie said, her voice a whisper.

"Cass, I want to - "

"You should know! You would!" She said suddenly, breaking right into the middle of his sentence, more louder than before. "Emile knew . . . he told me!"

Now she was mad, her voice slightly angry. But her angry betrayed her and turned to sadness, and she was yet again crying dry sobs. Of course he knew . . . he had to of known . . . wasn't he Emile's son, or . . . well, he was her brother . . . but that thought would have to wait for another day. Because now, she was just angry with him for keeping a secret.

"Told you what?" Remy asked softly, but he already knew. Emile had told him when she had come . . . and when he had been told, he felt a strong connection to a little girl that he didn't even know. Because that was the same thing that had happened to him, when he was only an infant . . . it would obviously be harder on Cassie, because she had memories of her mother. Because she actually _knew _her mother. But Remy couldn't help feeling for her, more than anyone else could, because he knew what it was like . . . because he knew what it was like to be abandoned.

"That . . . that . . . " Cassie said, her voice small again. "That Mommy's not coming back!"

Remy frowned sadly and stood up, then sat on the end of her bed and ran his hands through her hair gently.

"I'm sorry, Cassie . . . " He said quietly, not knowing what was appropriate to say to a sorrowful five-year-old.

"But you knew!" She wailed, sitting up and nearly bumping her head on the palm of his hand. "You knew, and you didn't tell me!"

Instead of answering, he tried to wrap her in a hug, but Cassie pushed him away, shrinking back toward the wall behind her bed.

"You didn't tell me! Why?" She demanded.

"Cassie, I'm sorry, but I couldn't," Remy told her softly, making no move toward her, as he could tell she didn't want it.

"Why?" She demanded again, letting out a loud, hollow sob.

"Emile told me not to . . ." Remy said. As an afterthought, he knew that a five-year-old either wouldn't understand, or think that that was a good reason. He sighed a little, and then suddenly thought of something else to say. "I didn't want to make you sad."

Cassie didn't answer, but seemed to take this comment to heart, as she scooted a little closer to him, her stuffed bear limply dangling from her hand. They sat there for a few minutes, until Remy put his arm around her, and she fell into his hug. She nuzzled up against his stomach, frowning sadly.

"I really wish you told me," she whispered, her voice muffled to nearly nothing by his shirt. "Then maybe I would have been prepared."

Remy smiled sadly, unconsciously wrapping his arms a little tighter around her small body.

"Next time I will, Cass, I promise."

**Cassie is owned by my dear friend native101, and Remy is, as you all know, owned by me. :)**


	9. Drive

**'Ello! Yes, finally, an update! O_O! I hope ya'll have been waiting for it! :D! Oh, and thanks Bri for helping me with the idea to this theme! :D!**

**This theme is about John! And Paige. But mostly John. XD It's about his drive, what makes him get up in the morning, what, if he really thinks about it, he finds makes his life worth living.**

~*~*~Chapter Nine, Theme Nine: Drive~*~*~

"John! John, wake up! C'mon, get up, it's morning, and I'm hungry!"

A cute, perky voice broke through John's dream, which was one that was confusing and none to pleasant. It was more of a flashback, to be truthful. He saw an old friend . . . two, actually. One was younger than him, an African-American female of average height, with long black hair that reminded him of wheat and twinkling honey-brown eyes. It was hard to lose her, that little sister that he had never had. Her name was Nicole Jeremies. But it was the other one that had nearly split his heart in two. She had been tall, with lengthy, chocolately brown hair and eyes that sparkled like the sun. She had played the guitar and many other instruments that John knew he would never learn how to play. Her smile had been as warm as a cup of hot cocoa, and it had made him feel fuzzy inside, which John had _never _felt before he met her. Her name was Anna Shetland.

Annd Shetland and Nicole Jeremies were long since deceased, though.

John felt a sharp stab of pain to his heart almost every time he thought of Anna and Nicole. He had been standing right there, holding a sword, fighting the monster . . . yet he couldn't do anything when Anna got in his way. She had gotten slashed by the Nemean Lion's claws, deep in her stomach. There was too much blood spilling out of her to do her any good. She had died in his arms, and Nicole had died not to far away, with no one by her side. He was so stupid . . . if he could only have saved them . . . the memory just proved how worthless he was.

"John, come on! Wake up!" The young voice whined from above his head. John's eyes fluttered open and he looked above him, blinking a few times for his eyes to adjust. Standing there was six-year-old Paige West, his adopted sister. She smiled brightly at him. Her short, dirty blonde hair was sticking up in odd places and was frizzy. She held in her hand two ponytails, both a bright green color to match her t-shirt, which had a mint green turtle printed on a darker green background. She also was clutching a pastel blue hairbrush.

As John sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Paige plopped down on the bed next to him.

"John, could you brush my hair? Pleeease?" She asked, sticking out the hairbrush and ponytails with an adorable, innocent smile.

"Oh, um, gee, Paige, I . . . " John said choppily, not wanting to brush her hair, because guys just _did not _do that to their little sisters (if they did brush anyone's hair, including their own), yet not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"Pleeease?" Paige begged, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. "Anna and Nicole used to! Why can't you?"

Anna and Nicole. Yes, they were something that had ruined his life. Or nearly ruined it. He wondered, several times in fact, why he even continued on with living. He could commit suicide . . . he could volunteer for a deadly Quest and die along the way . . . he could run away from this place, and slowly die off on the streets. Dying sometimes was the thing that sounded best. However, there was one problem: Paige.

No, problem wasn't the right word . . . she _wasn't _a problem. She _wasn't _a burden. John loved her, and he could never leaved her alone.

His dark eyes lingered on her light ones for a few moments, before he sighed and looked around the room, for his roommates. Jono, as far as he could tell, was still in a deep sleep, completely consumed by his covers except for the upper half of his face. Jonathan's bed was empty, and Johnny was snoozing, one of his arms laying limply ober the side of his bed.

"Okay, sure, Paige, I'll do it," he told her with a small smile.

Paige's face immediately turned from a pout into a grin as she handed him her hairbrush and two ponytails.

John started to comb down her hair, with a somewhat uncomfortable glance around the room every minute. What did this look like to other guys? He tried to shrug it off as Paige's use of the names Anna and Nicole rang in his ears. He could have saved them . . . he could have done _something_. And poor little Wally, out there all alone, kidnapped, most likely dead. It was a surreal nightmare.

John finished brushing Paige's short hair and put the two low pigtails in her hair. They weren't very good, but they weren't a complete mess, either.

Paige took the plastic blue hairbrush and fingered her hair once he was finished, as if giving in a silent examination. He bit his lip, hoping that she would not be unhappy with it. John felt a lift to his heart when she smiled at him.

"Thank you, John! Can we go eat breakfast now? I think someone was making pancakes!"

As her smile grew rapidly larger at the thought, John couldn't help but smile back. Paige wasn't a burden, she wasn't a problem . . . she was the farthest thing from it, as far as he was concerned. She was a gift, something that, despite hardships and terrible suffering, had seemed to end up with John for a reason. Little Paige, the adorable six-year-old daughter of Poseidon, was what - figuratively and literally - brought him out of bed everyday. Paige was the reason that he couldn't die, that he _wouldn't _die. She was his little sister, even his companion, the cloest thing to his heart. This girl was his little lamb. He protected her from the retched evils of the world, the people that she shouldn't meet, the things that she should never do. He sheltered her and cared for her. And truelly, John was fine with that. He needed her just as much as she needed him.

Paige West was John Potts's hope, inspiration and vigor. He would never let her go for the world.

"Yeah Paige, pancakes sound really good right now," John said, still smiling.

Paige grinned widely, showing two missing front teeth, and hopped off the bed. She bounded to the door and waited for him there. John slowly stood up and followed her. He would follow her to the ends of the Earth if he had to, and even beyond . . . he wasn't sure if he would have made it as far as he was today without her.

**John and Paige are both owned by me, Element Wolf. As if you didn't know that. ;D But I hoped you liked it! :)**

**Next Theme: Breath Again**


	10. Breathe Again

**Oh yes, the double digits finally! :D XD**

**This chapter has to do with Jamie dying, it's hopefully going to be sad, and make Mino realize that she CANNOT kill Jamie. -.- Oh, and also, this is an alternative battle in the possible future of the RP, this battle probably won't happen, or at least at the same time in the same way.**

**Warning: For mature audiences. Simply put, maybe Cara won't like to read this. XD**

~*~*~Chapter Ten, Theme Ten: Breathe Again~*~*~

_A battle raged through the fog and misty rain. They were fighting for their camp, again, for the second time in only three years. This day was dreary, the weather brought by forces just as powerful, or even more powerful, than their parents. Up ahead, another fight ravished the sky. Glowing figures swooped in and out of the clouds, some sending lightning toward opponents, some dueling with fire, and others were hitting their adversaries with different various attacks._

_Below these immortals, radiating with their own intense power, the terrible battle was continuing. Kids fell to the ground dead every few minutes. Bodies of the deceased littered the ground all over. Some of the only sounds - besides the sounds from the immortals locked in combat above them - were metal clanking against metal and the warriors' heavy breathing._

_A girl standing near a tall, sky blue building had a smile on her face. She was goading on her opponent, trying to get him so irritated that she could over power him. A good strategy of hers. It normally work. But this boy was clever, calm, and devious._

_The rain, that was increasing in intensity, pounded down onto their heads, their faces, their armor, their weapons. It wasn't going to stop until the battle was won, by someone good or bad. The winners would celebrate, but the war would still rage. Oh yes, the war would still rage. It was hardly over. In fact, it had just begun._

_The girl laughed at her opponent, trying to get him red in the face, and found it surprising that he wasn't getting angry. She pestered him more, poking at him with her sword playfully and saying rude names, but he simply progressed with jabbing and slashing at her. The girl knit her eyebrows, the black and red streaks of her bangs plastered onto her forehead by the rain. They slashed and jabbed at each other for minutes more, putting up an agonizing fight._

_"Jamie!" A boy a few feet away from the girl shouted, grinning at her encouragingly. "We're doing great!"_

_He looked like her, some would even say that they were twins, and they would always tell people so. The kids had the same father and were born on the same day, but to different mothers. Their eyes were always exactly the same color. Brown, but they changed shades by the 'twins'' moods, and their moods seemed mysteriously connected. Right now, their brown eyes were dark, furious._

_Jamie nodded and grinned broadly at him while she brandished swords with her opponent. "You know it Toby!"_

_Toby grinned a little bit more and turned around to fight another enemy. _

_While Jamie was briefly distracted, her adversary took his chance to strike. He arched his sword high in the air, and brought it down on her shoulder. Jamie cried out and spun around to face him, but the boy slashed at her again, this time cutting a large incision in her stomach. Swinging her sword awkwardly, Jamie stepped toward the boy, willing her healing powers to work just enough so that she could finish him off, and then get out of the battle long enough to recieve help from one of her siblings._

_But Jamie's nemesis had different plans. He lunged at her, and she, who was starting to get dizzy from losing blood so rapidly, stumbled back, almost dropping her sword. Jamie cursed herself quietly for her lack of concentration and groped around behind her back for her bow and quiver, her left arm getting weaker by the second because of the stab. She had to get out of this. She had to. And quick._

_But no such luck. She'd have to stick with her sword, because the boy took another swing at her._

_Jamie staggered backwards, nearly bumping into a few of her other enemies and friends. Her opponent followed her, his eyes sparking with a red, murdurous light. The teenage boy advanced on her, raising his sword high in the air, his aura seeming to get brighter, to glow, with the threat of killing. Here he was, so close to his first kill of a Greek demigod . . . sure, there had been a few Egyptians and Celtics, but feeling the blood of a Greek child on his hand, being able to finally get revenge on one of the nasty Greeks for locking his parents away, causing terrible destruction to the world, where there could have been harmony . . . would be a reward beyond the greatest recognition._

_The boy brought down his sword and Jamie raised her's in defense. The two swords clashed together with the ringing sound of metal clanking against metal. Jamie wobbled on her feet, falling to the ground and then jumping to her feet again, but she was now more dizzy than ever. Jamie took up her fighting stand, though it was a weak attempt, and and her sword was shaking slightly in her hand._

_The boy smirked. Stupid, weak little Greek girl. A daughter of the sun god, wasn't she? So easy to finish off, especially since she was without her bow and arrows, and the boy knew that Apollo was the Greek god of archery, too._

_"What was your name again?" The boy cooed, the ghost of a cruel smile appearing on his pale face._

_Instead of answering the question, which he so obviously knew the answer to and was just using to get a fuss out of her, Jamie took a swing at him. Amazingly, a deep and jagged red scratch appeared on the boy's cheek, running from his cheek to the near tip of his jaw. _

_The boy was stunned for a few moments. He reached up and touched the scar, a dazed look in his eyes. Then the boy's eyes turned electric, practically glowing the color of blood and sending off scarlet lightning bolts. He growled savagely and lunged at Jamie one more time. She screamed and put her sword out to defend herself, but the boy knocked it out of her hands with one quick slash. He knocked her on the temple with the blunt side of his sword, sending her falling to the ground._

_Toby looked over at Jamie's scream. He gasped and started to run toward her. He tried to fight his way through the crowd of battling rivals, but it was fruitless._

_The boy with the glowing red eyes raised his sword. Jamie's eyes widened, tears now pouring from them, mixing with the rain on her cheeks. The wounds on her shoulder and stomach were searing with pain. Along with these, her pulsing temple from his last blow, and the rain, Jamie was nearly blind._

_As the boy's eyes livened yet again with viciousness, Jamie glared at him with her dark eyes. They were almost black now._

_"You bastard, you-you'll g-go to the Fields of P-Punishment for th-this," she told him in a hoarse, quiet voice._

_The boy simply smirked. "Not if we win."_

_Toby finally removed his bow and arrows from his back, not seeming to notice the fight that was taken place around him as he loaded the golden bow, a replica of his father's. He, Jamie, and the other Apollo kids fighting around them had agreed to use swords in the fight, because of the close proximity of their friends, unless the use of a bow became absolutely neccessary. And this was totally, completely, and absolutely neccessary. Toby was trying to save his 'twin's' life._

_As the boy thrust his sword down towards Jamie, the world seemed to slow down for the three of them, Jamie, Toby, and the deadly boy__. Jamie's 'twin' simply watched in horror as the horrifying unfolded before him._

_Jamie dropped to the ground, lifeless, a sword in her head. Her blank eyes dimmed and started to grow cloudy, staring at a spot beyond her reach, like she had already been going to Heaven or Elysium or whatever before the sword had even punctured her head. Blood stained the grass around her from her many wounds, and had already spread to the rest of her shirt._

_"NNNNOOOOOOO!" Toby screamed, and released a volley of arrows, straight for the boy that had killed his sister. _

_Before the boy had even turned around fully, three arrows had lodged themselves into his sides, and he too dropped to the ground, dead. Though there was no one around to care._

* * *

Now, the battle was done, won by the Greek gods, demigods, and their allies. The children of various Pantheons of gods hurried along the rows of dead bodies dim-heartedly, hoping that their friends were not among them, and even if they were, the kids checked pulses themselves just to make sure.

Sean O'Cathain was one of these people. Seth was fine. Lexie was okay. Kiera was healthy enough, mending on a mat outside of the Big House. But where was Toby? Where was Luna? And most importantly, where. Was. Jamie? Where was his freaking girlfriend?

Hundreds of terrible things ran through Sean's mind when he saw Toby, knealing amidst the lines of dead bodies, Luna, Toby's girlfriend, sitting beside him, with her arms wrapped gently around him and her head rested on his shoulder. They had both been crying. A lot, too. Their eyes were red and puffy, their bodies frail looking. Toby looked like he was going to shatter into a million tiny pieces at any second.

Sean's legs felt like lead as he walked over to them. He swallowed a large lump in his throat as he stepped up to them, bracing himself for the worst and trying to be ready for it, but in reality, not being able to handle it.

Jamie's body was lying there, her eyes now closed. She was pale and her shirt and pants were covered in blood. There were two large scars on her shoulder and stomach, and a sick, large slit in her heat, made from a sword that had since her death been removed. Lying beside her was her sword and her bow, arrows, and quiver. Toby was clutching Jamie's Camp bead-necklace to his chest.

Sean collapsed to the ground upon seeing Jamie's pallid, lifeless body. Immediately, loud, strangled sobs emitted from his throat, and tears sprung from his eyes. He looked at Jamie's deceased body one more time, almost like he wanted proof beyond the fact that she couldn't breath that she was dead. As if he could scream, _'breath again, breath again!'_, and she would miraculously sit up, start gasping for breath, and then fall into his arms, alive again and relieved to be so.

But of course, this didn't happen, and her body remained as lifeless as it had been. Sean put his head down and closed his eyes tightly.

Sure, they hadn't been together for _very _long, but he _loved _her, and he had loved her for almost two and a half years. They'd shared their first kiss by the lake just that summer, when he had told her that he loved her, and already he had lost her.

Bending over her body, he whispered sad things of thanks, greivings, and lovings to her. Thanks being for things like making him smile and laugh. Grievings related to just having gotten together were her, losing her after just a short amount of time. The words of loving were the most notable, short spits of things that he had never gotten around to telling her, like how he loved her hair and her ever-changing eyes and her songs and the many other wonderful things about her.

Sean gave her one final kiss, not even disturbed by the fact that she had been dead for hours. He thought of the things that she would never get to do, the things that _they _would never get to do _together_. She would never graduate high school, go to college, get her first job, become a famous musician . . . _they _would never be engaged, get married, have children, or raise their children in a well-off, quaint household somewhere in the Rockies.

The night went on and the lights around the Camp dimmer, but still Toby and Sean remained almost faithfully by Jamie's body. They didn't speak a word to each other, and frankly, no words needed to be said. They each felt the other's pain. Sean knew that Toby had been closer to Jamie, that they were considered 'twins', but he knew that there was a place in his soul that would _never _be filled again. No matter what girl he would meet, how amazing she'd be, he would never, _ever_, find a girl that he loved more than Jamie Pickett.

Though Luna was there to comfort Toby in a way that only a Romeo or Juliet can, and Sean was all alone on that cold, dreadful, long night, the things that the deceased can hear and see should be considered. Because if true love exists, within family _or _soulmates, then the good soul of a person should never really leave the ones that they care about, and should be there, to help their loved ones during their most desperate times of need.

**Phew . . . that was hard to write.**

**Now see, Mino, you CANNOT kill Jamie. -_-**

**Next theme: Memory. I'll try to make it a really happy chapter, but, you know, if that doesn't work out . . . XD**


	11. Insanity

**Le sigh, I know it has been like, MONTHS since I have updated this, but since summer has started I've been in a writing mood, so I decided to write some more one-shots. Don't expect anything big . . . I'll probably upload a few and then won't have inspiration to write anymore for months. XD Just, you know, a warning. XD**

**I know these past few chapters have been like, all about my characters, but please bare with me here. Rodge is insane. I couldn't not use him for the "Insanity" theme. I've been planning it since the beginning. XD**

* * *

~*~*~Chapter Eleven, Theme Eleven: Insanity~*~*~

He would probably never know it, but his mother was famous. A movie actress. A good one, too, and still fairly young. She was dating and pregnant with another baby. Everyone was in a frenzy over the Scott Rey and Cherry Hart baby.

He would probably also never know the punishment that he had received for his _father's_ mistake.

Rodger "Rodge" Arrington was insane. Mad. Crazy. And literally so. He had been studied and diagnosed by several doctors. None of them knew what had caused him to turn mad one day when he was six. He had, according to his foster parents, "just woken up that way". They had tried many things, treatment and the likes, but nothing worked. Finally, he was admitted into an insane asylum, where he lived for the next five years of his life.

Rodge didn't know that he was insane. He couldn't quite grasp it. He was just . . . different from others. And nobody really saw it in a good way. But he didn't care. He simply went on being the way he was, with his friends, Bob and Mary as his friends. They talked to him a lot. And they were nice to him. Unlike a lot of people. So he liked them.

He liked Charlotte, too. She was nice to him despite his differences. And she was his sister. Rodge had never had a sister before. He liked it. It was almost like having a mother. _Almost_.

Still. He knew he was adopted, and he wished he had met his real mother. Sometimes he thought about her, and wondered what she was like. She had to be beautiful, to get the attention of a god. And talented. Rodge knew that his father, Dionysus, wouldn't just fall for a woman he met on the street. She had to be special. And she must have been nice, too, for Rodge thought of himself as nice. But why didn't he know her?

And a question that was even more important . . . why was he _different_ from everybody else? Why did they treat him differently and give him strange looks? Rodge was just . . . him. He was uniquely himself. He was very smart, too, but nobody seemed to care about that because of all of the other things that set him apart. So . . . why was he different?

* * *

_Nearly five and a half years before, thunder rumbled over Manhattan, threatening a fierce storm. Lightning struck tall buildings. The Empire State Building itself had been struck three times. All of the frenzy over the storm was wasted, and intended to be so. The god who had made it was mad - but not in a killing sort of mood. More in the "let's-ruin-somebody's-life" kind of mood._

_Zeus, the god in question, sat on his large throne at the head of the throne room. The other Olympians sat in the usual "U" in their thrones, some looking anxious, and some looking rather bored. Some minor gods and goddesses were lounging on the stairs to the entrance of the hall. A buzzing silence was heard all around, until the throne room doors opened and a figure stepped inside. This figure was a man, short and stout, with curly black hair, in a leopard patterned shirt. He strode up the line of thrones and bowed before the king of the gods, then slowly rose as Zeus addressed him._

_"Dionysus . . ." Zeus spoke slowly, giving hint of his accusation to come. "You have gone out of Camp Half-Blood two times before, and we have let you get away with it." The man, Dionysus, snorted, but a quick glare from Zeus shut him up. "However, I have recently learned of another time that you slunk away . . . and for that, you must be punished."_

_"Listen . . . Dad, if I may . . ." Dionysus said calmly, though it just made Zeus's face contort more in rage. "You really don't know what it's like to be stuck in that infernal camp all the time! I was almost dying to get some fun, because those brats . . ."_

_Zeus put up a hand, standing up from his throne and to his full height. "I don't care what you want to do, Dionysus. You had a punishment, and we all know well what it is, I don't have to remind anyone . . ." He paused, as if goading on anyone to challenge the statement, but no one did. "Part of that punishment was that you couldn't leave the camp but for one day every ten years. I let you slid two times; but a third time? No, I cannot accept that. You must be penalized for infringing on your punishment."_

_"What, by adding ten more years on? Twenty?" Dionysus questioned with a snort. "I've been there long enough, I suppose it wouldn't make a difference . . ." He rolled his eyes._

_Zeus's face became a light shade of red. A large boom of thunder and a bright flash of lightening rumbled outside._

_"You will not speak to me like that!" Zeus roared, as more thunder exploded outside of the throne room. "You will care about this punishment, because you will have to deal it out."_

_Dionysus looked up, shock evident on his face. "Come again?"_

_"**You** will have to deal the punishment," Zeus said solemnly, trying not to let his glee at the obvious surprise that Dionysus was feeling show._

_"But . . . if it's my punishment . . .' Dionysus stated slowly, as the other gods shifted in their thrones. They had no idea what Zeus was planning._

_"Oh, no, no, no," Zeus said, stepping a bit closer to the wine god. "The punishment is not **for** you . . . but it will affect you."_

_Dionysus raised an eyebrow, squirming nervously. "How so?"_

_"Well . . . you're going to make you're son insane," Zeus replied, speaking slowly, letting the words roll slowly off of his lips so that Dionysus took in every detail of them._

_The wine god blinked once, then twice, and finally three times, before he started to feel a bit woozy. He stumbled a bit, back away from Zeus, then looked up to the king god, his eyes widening in shock and dread. He fully understood the words . . . he was just hoping that he was wrong._

_"Come again . . . ?" Dionysus asked, blinking again, looking quite sick. The gods around him were stony silent, and as still as statues. Most of them didn't know what to think. The punishment . . . it was horrible. Most of them cared enough about their kids to know that Dionysus must have been feeling alarmed and regretful._

_"You. Will make. Your son. Insane." Zeus stated, taking in the look of terror in Dionysus's eyes._

_"But . . . if I messed up, then . . . just punish me," Dionysus stuttered, almost pleading as he looked up at Zeus once more._

_Zeus shook his head. "No . . . you'll never learn if I add more years on to your sentence. You never seemed to learn that way in the past."_

_"But . . . but . . . I will, really, I will," Dionysus claimed._

_Zeus shook his head. "No . . . no, you will never learn that way. Now come on, your son awaits."_

* * *

_Seconds later, Dionysus and Zeus appeared in a quaint townhouse in San Diego, California. The warm, late summer breeze was drifting through the room that they were in. The walls of the room were painted blue, and had stickers pasted on them. Glowing star stickers illuminated the room ever so slightly, along with the moonlight from the moon out the window and high in the sky. The night seemed almost perfect, but it was truly a terrible one for Dionysus._

_The wine god slowly walked over to the bed that was standing against one of the walls in the room. A small figure lay upon it, curled up in a ball with a teddy bear in its hands. Dionysus stepped up to the bed and gazed down at the small figure . . . a little boy. **His** little boy. His son, his child._

_Dionysus glanced back at Zeus. "Please . . . don't make me do this . . . the child didn't do anything. He doesn't deserve this." Every word was spoken quietly, so as not to wake the little boy up._

_Zeus shook his head, speaking just as softly, "No. This is the only way you will learn, Dionysus. If this is what it takes to get you to see reason . . . then I will have to take that chance."_

_"Please, Father . . ." Dionysus pleaded quietly, adding the 'Father' part for a touch-up. "Please, don't make me do this . . . don't make me ruin his life . . . would you do this to your own son?"_

_Zeus eyes flashed with sympathy for a moment, but he repeated, "This is the only way you will learn, Son."_

_Dionysus turned back to the bed with a heavy heart. It seemed to weigh him down, making it hard for him to move his bones and muscles. He gazed down at his small son again, then brushed the bangs out of the boy's eyes. Dionysus bent down and placed a light kiss on his young son's forehead._

_"I'm sorry . . ." he whispered into the little boy's ear, even though the boy would never knew they were spoken, or what they were spoken for. Dionysus straightened slightly and stroked the boy's cheek, then pressed the palm of his hand on the boy's forehead. He mumbled a few words in Ancient Greek. A white light burst from his palm and encased the boy's body within a few seconds, but just as quickly as it appeared, it faded. The wine god stepped back and looked over the boy one more time, before disappearing into dust with the king of the gods._

* * *

Dionysus had been scarred that day, and it often took a lot to scar a god. He no longer slunk out of camp when nobody was watching; instead, he remained there, like he was supposed to, and only went out when Zeus told him that he could. He cared about his children, really, he did. Maybe not as much as some of the other Olympians, like Apollo or Hermes or Poseidon, but he did care about them. He never wanted to hurt one of them again like he had had to hurt Rodge. It was just too much, even for a god, to have on his shoulders.

Most of the other gods look on in sorrow when they remembered what happened that night. A lot of them, even ones that didn't have children, thought that Zeus had done a terrible thing. It was almost barbaric. But of course, they had to remind themselves that they were _Greek_ gods, from Ancient Greece. Everything had been barbaric in their prime.

Rodge Arrington would never know what his father had done to him, and that was probably for the best.

* * *

**Well . . . I really hoped you liked it, since I actually decided to update it . . . XD And . . . well . . . that chapter actually kind of hurt to write. :'( Zeus is such a bastard sometimes! :( O.= But . . . it seemed like a kind of Zeus-y thing to do, in my opinion. ) So yeah. But still. :(**


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